“We really felt like we could win the tournament if we got on a roll. We got some momentum. We got on the doorstep of it. We were six outs away and we had the lead.”

UTSA (35-26) rolled through bracket play with a 3-1 record and knocked off the second- and third-seeded teams to reach the championship.

Against top-seeded Rice, the Roadrunners forged a 5-4 lead and held on to it through seven innings, raising the possibility that they could make consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.

But the Owls (41-18) rallied in the eighth inning against relievers Matt Sims and Cody Brannon for two runs and a 6-5 lead.

In the ninth, they sent nine batters to the plate, stroked six hits and tacked on five more runs.

It was a tough way to end the season for the Roadrunners, who were blown out by the Owls in the ninth inning of consecutive games in San Antonio on May 10 and 11.

“The Rice Owls make you play clean, efficient baseball all the way for 27 outs,” Marshall said. “If you flinch at all, you leave the door open for them, and they will kick that thing in, in a hurry, and make you like it.

“It happened to us in the regular season, and it happened to us today. It wasn't anything new that we hadn't seen. They are a good ballclub.”

Tournament MVP Michael Aquino led Rice with a home run, three hits and four RBIs.

John Welborn produced two RBIs in a three-run UTSA sixth that gave the Roadrunners their 5-4 lead.